UK judge rules in favour of the right to be forgotten

In the UK, a judge has ordered Google to de-list from its Google search results articles about years-old crimes committed by a businessman, in another landmark decision on the so-called ‘right to the forgotten’. The case at hand was brought to court by two businessmen who had previously asked Google to remove articles about crimes they had committed, arguing that the articles were a breach of their right to privacy, old, and of no public interest. Google had initially refused the requests, arguing that it was in the public’s interest to provide information about the professional lives of individuals. The plaintiffs took Google to court, and, on 13 April, the judge ruled in favour of one of them, considering that the information about the crime committed was outdated and irrelevant. He ordered Google to remove the search results, deeming that the articles were of ‘no sufficient legitimate interest to users’. Google announced it would comply with the ruling.